So long, Vancouver!

Once you start feeling somewhat at home somewhere, it’s almost like you’re leaving a piece of your heart behind when you leave. This is as far as I can tell the only real downside of having temporarily lived in different countries, aside from missing family and friends back home. Whilst I am truly grateful for all the amazing experiences and the wonderful people I have met along the way, saying goodbye will never be something to enjoy for me. Canada in general and Vancouver in particular, with all its ups and downs, is no exception and I dread leaving this beautiful place, the beaches, the mountains and the friends I have made over here.

After nine exciting and crazy months in Canada have gone by in what seems like a blink of an eye, my last couple of weeks in Vancouver have started before I know it. A part of me still doesn’t feel like I’m done with this city, or this country overall. There is still so much to see, so many beautiful hikes, so much more breath-taking scenery and friendly people to encounter. On the other hand I can’t work here anymore; travelling in winter is neither as easy nor as nice as it is in summer and consequently there is not much point hanging around any longer. My only comfort is that Canada isn’t really that far away from London, my previous and future home away from home, and I’m determined to come back to the land of Tim Horton’s* soon. For now, I have decided to spend the last week enjoying the city, revisiting the places I liked the most but also, doing things I haven’t got around to doing before.

A walk along Wreck Beach

The generally unpredictable and uncomfortable Vancouver winter weather is always good for a surprise. I’m just sat in front of my PC, trying to focus on the jobs search back in England when the sun sends its rays into my room and convinces me to leave it until I’m back. I decide it’s the perfect day for a walk along Wreck Beach – one of the places I haven’t managed to get to before.

Wreck Beach is located near UBC – the University of British Columbia – which is well connected via the local bus system. Walking from UBC down to the western shoreline of Vancouver, I soon arrive at a long wooden staircase that takes me down to the beach. The tide is relatively high, something I didn’t consider before my walk. With the steep cliffs not leaving a broad stretch of beach to walk on at this time of day, and lots of fallen trees and rocks blocking the way, my hike turns out to be a bit more adventurous than I had anticipated. I’m scrambling over and in between slippery tree trunks and rocks heading south along the waterfront. It’s a beautifully sunny and warm day, but at this time of the year, only a couple of hikers are crossing my path, walking up from the opposite direction and heading towards the north end of the beach.

Wreck Beach is famous in Vancouver because it’s the city’s only nudist (or “clothing-optional”) beach. At 7.8 km long, it is also the largest clothing-optional beach in North America. Needless to say that I’m not expecting to meet any “nudies” this time of the year, but I couldn’t be more wrong. As I turn a corner, I almost literally bump into a group of naked elderly hippies enjoying their joints and some cans of beer in the sunshine. They have installed large sheets coated with tinfoil as shelters from the wind and probably also to intensify the sun’s radiation. The only accessible path directs me right through the group so I keep walking and say hi to the friendly looking bunch. One of the men with a big smile and a long beard is sat on a bench holding a can of beer and asks me how I am. I have to laugh and reply “obviously not as good as you guys!” His smile widens and he offers me a can, which I politely decline – I’ve only just started my walk.

Shortly after, the thin stretch of beach broadens into what looks like the main beach. A couple of people are doing a naked yoga session by the waterline and wave at me cheerfully as I walk past. The path becomes very muddy now as it continues into a forest. Little islands of sand emerge between the trees, some of which are occupied by more nude people in their tinfoil shelters, reading, meditating or just chilling in the sun. At one point, the path runs along another little waterfront beach which looks like a nice hideout spot before it ends at a little waterfall, besides which a staircase leads me up to the main road again and away the beautiful nature and happy nudists.

A flight over Vancouver

The day before I leave for London, my bags are nearly packed and part two of my leaving drinks have left me with a bit of a hangover to say the least. But that doesn’t dampen my mood today as my former boss Dale has a very rare treat up his sleeve for me. A passionate pilot, and with the weather being a delight of sunshine and little winds, he’s going to take my work colleague Agnes and myself flying in a Cessna, a light utility aircraft.

I have never been flying in a plane like this before so I really hope I can hold it together after Dale has performed his checks, briefed Agnes and myself and provided us with the necessary headsets to be able to communicate during the flight. And before I know it, we are rolling down the runway and the plane takes off much smoother than I have anticipated. Once up in the air, we’re circling over Coquitlam and Surrey before we head over to the mountains. The ride is much calmer than I expected thanks to the great pilot and the great flying weather. The mountains below us look perfectly untouched with a pristine layer of snow covering them. The usually turquoise waters of the mountain lakes such as Garibaldi Lake are covered by ice and snow and are only recognisable as flat surfaces in the midst of the mountain range.

We are flying close enough to the mountains to see little details such as the ski lifts running on Whistler and Blackcomb, and it’s funny and a little sad to think that only a week ago, I would have been one of the people sat on these lifts, eager to hit the powdery slopes in the beautiful sunshine. In less than an hour, we’ve made our way to Whistler and we’re heading back towards Vancouver again. I’m sat right next to Dale as the co-pilot, taking in the beautiful scenery and lost for words when Dale tells me swiftly that I’m taking over now. It takes me a moment to process that I’m just about to have my first (and possibly only) ever flying lesson over the lush greenery and snow-capped mountains of British Columbia. I’m really concentrated and excited as Dale guides me through a couple of turns and explains how to keep the plane level (which I find a bit difficult to assess). After a little while, Dale takes back control and I sit back, relax and enjoy the sun lowering in the sky and the beautiful light glazing over Howe Sound, harbouring Bowen, Gambier and Anvil Islands and other, smaller landmasses.

Before our tour ends, we do a few circles above Downtown Vancouver. I see the beaches where I spent one of the most amazing summers of my life so far, swimming in the sea, sunbathing, having beers at the pier in Jericho and watching the fireworks. I remember cycling, walking and running along the waterfront from Sunset Beach and around Stanley Park, spotting bald eagles circling above me and getting lost in the vastness of the forest. It’s very surreal that I’m about to leave this place tomorrow and I feel very emotional despite the invigorating flight experience. I’m truly grateful that the decision about leaving or staying was taken for me – at least for now – with my visa running out. And after a perfectly smooth landing manoeuvre, I’m finding myself back in my flat, packing the remainder of my things and getting ready to head back home to Germany, with one eye laughing and one eye crying, promising to myself that I’ll be back here soon.

*For those who forgot or haven’t read all of my posts (tut tut, how dare you?) – Tim Horton’s is an iconic Canadian fast food chain for the tight backpacker budgets.